Jim Kelly at football camp: Nice to 'run around'

The former Bills quarterback spoke to the media Thursday about his recovery from Cancer treatments. Video by Jamie Germano
Video by Jamie Germano

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Jim Kelly, former Hall of Fame quarterback with the Buffalo Bills, recovering from cancer treatments, but still found a way to get to his annual football camp and work with some of the kids.(Photo: Jamie Germano/@jgermano1/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)Buy Photo

AMHERST – For 26 years, Jim Kelly had played flag football with the kids who enrolled in his football camp.

As Day 2 of Year 27 of the camp got underway on Thursday morning, Kelly once again joined the flag football game, albeit for only about 10 minutes.

"Trust me, I wasn't moving too fast," he said.

But he was there, in motion, active, and continuing to fight back against sinus cancer after a barrage of springtime radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

"I feel pretty good," Kelly said from the camp sidelines at Sweet Home High School. "It's a very long, slow process."

Part of the process involves putting weight back on. The former Buffalo Bills star quarterback has lost 51 pounds. But even weight gain is a slow, methodical process. He has only begun to eat solid food; scrambled eggs the past few days and a half-plate of pasta from Ilio DiPaolo's Italian Restaurant in Hamburg on Wednesday night.

"I told Dennis (DiPaolo) I'll be back to where I can eat a full plate," Kelly said.

“I'm not scared to die. I've done more in 54 years than most people have at 80. I've fulfilled so many dreams. (But) again, I have so many more things to accomplish.”

Jim Kelly

The vast majority of his nutritional needs are maintained through a feeding plug in his stomach. "I have no saliva, I have no taste buds," he said. "I get all my food through a can."

While he doesn't know what the future holds, the Pro Football Hall of Famer recently received good news: there has been no spread of the cancer. But he said it takes eight to 12 weeks "for the radiation and chemo to do its job."

Kelly will have an MRI in the second or third week of August to find out "if the cancer has left my body.

"I'm not scared to die," he said. "I've done more in 54 years than most people have at 80. I've fulfilled so many dreams. (But) again, I have so many more things to accomplish."

Video: Kelly addresses the Bills' sale, possible involvement

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Jim Kelly speaks about possible new Bills ownership at his football camp on July 10, 2014.
Video by Jamie Germano

Video: Jim Kelly's full speech to players on Day 1

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Watch Jim Kelly's full speech at his football camp in Buffalo, where he thanked his "supporting cast" that has helped him through his cancer fight.
Video by WGRZ-TV

Kelly said he walks every morning with his wife, Jill, and brother Ray.

"I do know the letters, the emails and the prayers especially have helped me get to where I'm at," he said.

Being at the camp was important to him. He has always been hands-on and wasn't going to miss this year's event.

"It's nice when you can just run around," he said of the interaction with the kids. "I never really was that quick."

He also wanted to join his camp coaches in reinforcing one of the messages.

"Part of being Kelly tough is not only the physical part, it's the mental part," he said, "and that means being able to pick the right friends. You are who you hang with. Show me your friends and I'll show you your future."

Except in his case. Cancer is no friend and, as such, Kelly knows there is no way to predict his future.